Apple dropped a teaser for Carpool Karaoke: The Series during this year's Grammy Awards. The show, originally a segment of James Corden's late night talk show, puts the host behind the wheel, accompanied by a musical guest, riding shotgun, as they wade through traffic with sing-alongs aplenty.
Carpool Karaoke: The Series
Among the familiar faces the teaser featured are Will Smith, Ariana Grande and Blake Shelton, among others — appearances which, if past "Carpool Karaoke" installments are any indication, are destined for viral news territory.
The preview, edited as intercut fragments which total into a musical arrangement of its own, aired as a commercial during the awards show, which Corden himself hosted. Other appearances include talk show host Chelsea Handler, Alicia Keys, Metallica, John Legend and a handful more luminaries.
Apple Ventures Into The TV Sphere
The series is slated to arrive exclusively on Apple Music this year, but the teaser wasn't able to confirm exactly when, only hinting that it's coming soon. Apple ordered 16 episodes of "Carpool Karaoke" last year, which also appears to be an evidence of the company's venture into TV programming as it plans to carve out its own space in the sphere moving forward.
Apple Music
Apple Music currently offers, apart from a broad and diverse musical library, in-depth featurettes on musical artists in the style of documentaries, and the company is reportedly tapping veterans to acquire rights for scripted programs, and eventually produce original content itself, like Netflix and Amazon Video.
Carpool Karaoke: The Series will still feature Corden behind the wheel, but in a lesser capacity; each new episode will feature a brand-new host coupled with another celebrity, such as Shaquille O'Neal and John Cena — an odd, if not interesting, conflation. There's also Metallica partnered with Billy Eichner, which is fitting for Metallica's energy, since the latter is oft-recognized for his frenetic outbursts.
The trailer also indicates that the guests won't be relegated inside the car at all times; the stars will also visit other locales, such as bakeries, basketball courts and possibly more — even what appears to be a wedding.
You may soon stream all episodes of Carpool Karaoke: The Series if you're subscribed to Apple Music, which currently costs $10 a month.
Tim Cook, Apple's CEO himself has (sort of) appeared on the show, filming a special segment which opened the iPhone 7 announcement in December.
"Carpool Karaoke" remains an insanely popular segment of Corden's late night show, having garnered over 148 million views on YouTube in one episode with Adele, over 52 million views with then First Lady Michelle Obama, over 40 million views with Bruno Mars, over 36 million with Lady Gaga and many more.
Apple purchased the rights to "Carpool Karaoke" in July 2016 as an effort to sway people into its proprietary streaming service. "Carpool Karaoke" episodes typically last a little over 10 minutes, but Apple's version will hover around 30 minutes, and will reportedly feature a format "that is more of an interview series," as per MacRumors.
Thrilled for Carpool Karaoke: The Series? Which artists would you like to see? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
